The government shutdown did not stop the new health insurance marketplace in El Paso from opening Tuesday.

Although there were not many people enrolling in health insurance plans, dozens of people picked up their phones to contact the Enroll El Paso Coalition and Project Vida Health Center -- the two application facilitators in the county --asking questions on how they can get insured. Centro San Vicente and Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe also will assist people in the future.

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, went into effect Tuesday with the opening of the enrollment period, which ends in March. Health care coverage begins Jan. 1.

The new health care law requires almost everyone to have health insurance.

Most of those without insurance will have to pay a penalty.

Jennifer Buschick, the "navigator" program director for the Enroll El Paso Coalition, which is providing the community with information about insurance and public health programs, said most people called with questions and concerns. However, the coalition is collecting people's information to keep them informed about enrollment events, such as health fairs and community meetings that are going to take place soon, she said.

Advertisement

Buschick said the Enroll El Paso Coalition is helping the public navigate through healthcare.gov, the website where people can apply for health coverage.

The website allows consumers to create an account, apply for coverage, compare, pick a plan and enroll for coverage.

Costs are based on age, income, family size and plan category. Plans range from bronze, which pays 60 percent of health care costs but has the lowest monthly premiums, to platinum, which pays 90 percent but has the highest premiums. People who already have insurance do not have to change their plans.

Buschick said a lot of veterans and people with Medicare have been calling with concerns.

If veterans are enrolled in the VA health system, they will not get fined because they have coverage, she said. The majority of people with Medicare will not be fined either. Part A Medicare recipients who are paying premiums can apply into the marketplace to see whether they qualify for subsidies or health insurance, she added.

Arturo Robles, program coordinator for Project Vida Health Centers in El Paso, could not provide a number, but said that since Monday a lot of people have either called or walked into the clinics in Central, Northeast and Montana Vista asking about health insurance coverage.

"There are a lot of people coming in for questions, not so much enrolling yet," Robles said. He said his staff has been taking appointments to help people enroll in affordable health plans that meet their needs.

People can walk in or call 533-7057 to make appointments, he said.

"We're working with everybody. We're working around their schedule," Robles said.

To get enrolled, people will need to provide proof of their annual income and their Social Security number.

Obamacare began Tuesday with computer glitches.

The healthcare.gov site failed during at least one stretch of opening day. It bogged down at other times.

Republicans who oppose the Affordable Care Act made a point of mentioning the bumpy beginning, but the president was undeterred by critics.

President Barack Obama said the disruption occurred because volume was so great.

"More than one million people visited healthcare.gov before seven in the morning," Obama said. "To put that in context, there were five times more users in the marketplace this morning than have ever been on medicare.gov at one time."

Obama promised that the enrollment system would get smoother and quicker.

"Like every new law, every new product rollout, there are going to be some glitches in the sign-up process along the way that we will fix," he said.

The online system asks that people seeking health insurance sign in with an email account. But getting through the process proved impossible during parts of the day.

The website froze, and applicants could not complete the process.

"We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Please try again later," the website said to those trying to sign up for insurance on the federal exchange.